A Lesson in the Fear of Rejection

Jia Jiang needed to steel himself against rejection so he decided to try, what he called, “100 Days of Rejection Therapy”. He made requests of strangers that were sure to get a big fat “NO”. He asked a Domino Pizza franchise if he could deliver the next pizza order that came in - “No”, he asked to speak on the intercom at a Costco - “NO” and he asked to play soccer in someone’s backyard - “NO”. Then he walked into a Krispy Kreme and asked Jackie for donuts in the shape of the Olympic rings and that he needed them in 15 minutes! He wanted his “NO”.

Hmmm, Jackie was surprised and seemed challenged by the request so she started asking questions. She even drew out a quick sketch to make sure she knew exactly what he wanted. Jia waited for his “NO”. She asked what colours the rings were. Jia guessed. Got them wrong. (He didn’t think he would get this far.) Jackie said to hang on and went to the back. In 15 minutes she came out with her creation – 5 Krispy Kreme donuts in the shape of the Olympic rings. Basic, but there it was.

Work to overcome your fear of rejection. It is the fear of and not the actual rejection that holds us back. Go ahead and ask. Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you. You never know. The person could be a Jackie and say “YES”!

BTW when Jia went to pay Jackie said “Don’t even worry about it. That one is on me.”